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The history of Watts is one where cultural and political resilience is always intertwined with Black Americans’ historical struggles against segregation, police violence and economic disenfranchisement. In the 1940s, the growth of the defense industry made it a desirable destination for Black Americans who left the South as part of the Great Migration. However, Black Angelenos in Watts faced a more complex reality upon arrival as they faced segregationist housing policies and limited opportunities for economic advancement. Despite these conditions, Watts fostered a vibrant cultural milieu through its proximity to Central Avenue’s jazz clubs.
By the 1960s, white flight to the suburbs, the closure of manufacturing plants, and the construction of multiple housing projects in Watts resulted in a concentration of impoverished Black residents, which in turn heightened existing tensions between the community and police, leading to the confrontation between a police officer and Marquette Frye that preceded the 1965 Watts Uprising. Despite images of Watts that predominantly focused on rubble that lined the streets, the aftermath of the uprising, too, fostered new creative possibilities, with artists in Watts establishing new cultural centers to serve their community. This complexity and duality in Watts has persisted in the subsequent decades, and so too, its significance as a touchstone of the Black experience in the United States.
In “Watts Votes Obama,” I set out to bring this historical context to the fore as I documented a moment of history in the making. The subjects in this essay range from first-time voters to community elders in their 90s, underscoring the long historical arc that led to the 2008 presidential election, including protracted (and ongoing) struggles to ensure voting rights for Black Americans and the reverberations of those struggles within a historically-Black community in Los Angeles. By documenting the act of voting, rather than the election’s outcome, these photographs convey an emotional depth and complexity unique to the moment. Similarly, “Watts Votes Obama” also speaks to the distinctive threads that have shaped its identity by imaging polling places and significant locations that inform the cultural geography of Watts such as the Mafundi Institute, Imperial Courts, and the Watts Towers as well as activists and poll workers who reside in the community.
Sandra Morgan and her son Robert Morgan after voting at the Greater New Jerusalem Church.
Leroy Williams waits to cast his vote early on election day at the Greater New Jerusalem Church.
Ted Jackson after casting his ballot at Greater New Jerusalem Church
Willie Solomon after voting in Greater New Jerusalem Church.
Activist Cynthia Mendenhall, also known as Sista Soulja, called residents of the Imperial Courts to the polling place setup in the housing project’s gym.
James Johnston, age 93, has voted in every election since he turned 18-years-old.
Poll worker Susan Thanarse at the Pitts Community Center.
Henry Redd stands outside the original home of the Mafundi Institute, an icon of Watts’ post-riot cultural renaissance
Monra Jordan and Elois Lamar after voting at George Washington Carver Park.
Shawn Hill outside the polling place in the computer lab in George Washington Carver Park.
Frederick Sennie, age 19, after voting in his first general election at George Washington Carver Park.
Quixotes T. Kesser and Althea Garrett after voting at the Watts Towers Arts Center.
Kevin L. Brown Jr. & Shamika Beime and Kia Shabazz outside 116th St. Elementary School.